Before “Shōgun” became a massive hit for FX and Hulu, most moviegoers or television viewers likely recognized Hiroyuki Sanada. Outside of his impressive list of Japanese credits, the veteran actor has appeared in Hollywood films for over two decades starting in 2003 with “The Last Samurai.” Since then, he’s appeared in “47 Ronin,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Bullet Train,” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” (oh, and we can’t forget “Lost” either).

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’: Hiroyuki Sanada Says Season Two Writer’s Room Is Open [Interview] at The Playlist.

No surprise here: more episodes of “Shōgun” are on the way. FX and streaming partner Hulu announced yesterday that they’ll renew their hit limited series for two more seasons. Star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada also returns, as do co-creators, writers, and executive producers Justin Marks and Rachel Condo, as well as EP Michaela Clavell.  And “Shōgun” author James Clavell also returns to develop both upcoming seasons, too; so creatively speaking, everyone is back, which is good news for the show’s fans.

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’: FX & Hulu Renew Hit Limited Series For Two More Seasons at The Playlist.

If “The Bear” became FX’s biggest hit for 2022 and 2023, then 2024 has undoubtedly been owned thus far, but the TV network’s hit series “Shōgun” (read our review). Created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, “Shōgun” has exploded as FX’s biggest streaming hit on Hulu/Disney+ and is heading toward becoming a serious Emmy contender—actress Anna Sawai’s performance is already expected to end up landing an acting nomination, and there could be much more.

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’: Hiroyuki Sanada Signs On For Season 2 Return Of FX’s Massive Hit Samurai Series at The Playlist.

One of the most talked about series of 2024 is FX’s feudal Japan series, “Shōgun,” which just ended its ten-episode run on Hulu. The acclaimed series centers on the collision of two ambitious men, an English sailor (Cosmo Jarvis), who is shipwrecked in Japan, and Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a shrewd, powerful Japanese feudal lord, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals. Together, they form a tentative alliance that mutually benefits their aims of staying alive in a foreign land and staying in power amid much dissension.

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’ Creators Are Open To Season 2, But Caution “It’s A Tough One” Even If The Audience Wants It at The Playlist.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo attempts to sail through murky waters when discussing “Shogun.” The FX/Hulu series is based on the beloved book of the same name and is set in 17th-century Japan. It follows multiple characters in a struggle for power and freedom after a British vessel is found stranded in a small fishing village, leading to political unrest and potential war.

Continue reading ‘Shogun’: Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo, & Hiroyuki Sanada Discuss Their Epic Miniseries, ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Mortal Kombat’ & More [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

James Clavell’s “Shōgun” is a notoriously long book. The first edition in 1975 ran well over a thousand pages and yet was somehow still a truly massive, culture-shifting literary hit, selling millions of copies. Not only did it start a successful series of books for the author known as The Asian Saga, but it really helped define the prestige network TV mini-series. In 1980, a nine-hour mini-series captivated viewers on NBC over five nights, becoming the highest-rated program in the history of the network and second only to ABC’s “Roots” on any network.

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’ Review: FX’s Lavish Action Samurai Period Piece Reshapes Beloved Original at The Playlist.

Yes, we kinda talk a lot about our Most Anticipated Film & TV features each year; a lot of work goes into them. But more to the point, they house a lot of things that can seem a bit abstract to people at first, but when you see the goods, you get thrilled. Maybe that’s the case with FX’s “Shōgun,” a long-awaited, much-anticipated original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, which was famously adapted into a 1980s mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain.

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’ Red-Band Trailer: “War Is Inevitable” In Bloody New FX Series at The Playlist.

It’s seemingly been years in the making, but FX’s much-anticipated global event series for Hulu, “Shōgun,” is finally coming in February 2024. (Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories). Moreover, Hulu and FX have also revealed the first trailer for the series.

The series stars Japanese veteran Hiroyuki Sanada, known recently for “Bullet Train,” “John Wick: Chapter 4” “Army of the Dead” and an entire career of Japanese films (“The Ring”) that goes back to the 1960s (he started as a child actor), and up-and-coming British actor Cosmo Jarvis (“Lady Macbeth”).

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’ Trailer: Hiroyuki Sanada & Cosmo Jarvis Star In FX’s Epic New Feudal Japan Event Series at The Playlist.

For all that is wrong with the world, at least we are alive to see actors like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves beat Father Time to a standstill in some of the most innovative movie franchises of their day. Ever since revitalizing his career in the original “John Wick,” Reeves has cemented his place as an icon both onscreen and off. And in the new trailer for “John Wick: Chapter 4” — the latest collaboration between Reeves and franchise helmer Chad Stahelski — we are reminded why so many action fans feel they can accurately measure the passage of time in “John Wick” movies.

Continue reading ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Trailer: Keanu Reeves Returns To Fight The High Table, This Time Against Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård & More at The Playlist.

FX has been attempting to put together a new limited series adaptation of the James Clavell novel “Shōgun” for a couple of years now but kept running into bad luck and obstacles, between various development hiccups and last year’s pandemic, which led to further delays on the series that takes place in feudal Japan.

READ MORE: FX CEO Warns Of Too Many Scripted Series And “Too Much Narrative” As He Announces New Drama ‘Shōgun’

However, things are finally being pushed into gear.

Continue reading Hiroyuki Sanada & Cosmo Jarvis To Lead FX’s Samurai Limited Series ‘Shōgun’ at The Playlist.

After years of agony, drama, and studio fighting with mixed results to show for it in the end (at best), if filmmaker Zack Snyder gleans one takeaway from his terrific new zombie thriller, “Army Of The Dead,” it’s that he should steer completely clear of superhero films for the rest of his career and focus on original features. And maybe just zombie ones. Snyder’s best movie since his debut, the zombie film “Dawn Of The Dead” (2004), “Army Of The Dead” is really compelling and deftly navigates a lot of different tones, even if it quickly leaves more interesting ones behind.

Continue reading ‘Army Of The Dead’: Zack Snyder Understands The Zombie Assignment In A Bleak Tale Of Late-Stage American Capitalism [Review] at The Playlist.

New Line Cinema and Threshold Entertainment released Paul Anderson’s “Mortal Kombat” back in 1995, three years after the same-named video game caused a stir verging on moral panic for allowing players to indulge in shocking violence. These were the days when gaming wasn’t an accepted mainstream practice, instead seen as a refuge for social misfits and potential school shooters; the people who knew “Mortal Kombat” were the ones playing it, and everyone else knew it from cultural pearl clutching.

Continue reading ‘Mortal Kombat’: This Joyless Cosplay Delivers Plenty Of Fatalities But Not Much Else [Review] at The Playlist.

“Army of the Dead” marks Zack Snyder‘s return to a zombified world since his directorial debut, 2004’s remake of George A. Romero‘s “Dawn of the Dead.” While the two films are unrelated, they’ll undoubtedly share the same fast-paced, unrelenting action violence that first put Snyder on the Hollywood map.  

READ MORE: Netflix 2021 Teaser Flex: First Looks At ‘Don’t Look Up’ With DiCaprio & Jennifer Lawrence, ‘The Harder They Fall’ With Idris Elba & Dozens More

The movie follows a group of mercenaries in Las Vegas who venture out of the quarantine zone to pull off a bank heist during an outbreak of the undead.  Dave Bautista leads the soldiers-for-hire.  Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Garret Dillahunt, Raul Castillo, Omari Hardwick, Tig Nataro, and Matthias Schweighöfer round out the large, multicultural ensemble cast.

Continue reading ‘Army Of The Dead’ Trailer: Dave Bautista Leads A Heist During A Zombie Apocalypse In Zack Snyder’s Latest at The Playlist.

FINISH HIM! Well, pick your poison. Would you rather engulf your opponent in flames or drop them onto a floor of spikes? These are just two choices for casual and hardcore gamers alike in “Mortal Kombat,” still going strong nearly 30 years later. Still, let’s not forget that the gratuitous violence in Ed Boon and John Tobias’ title helped paved the way for creating the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

Continue reading ‘Mortal Kombat’ Red Band Trailer: WB’s Gritty, Gory Martial Arts Film Adapts The Classic Video Game at The Playlist.

Discuss: does director David Leitch have the best cast of 2022 with “Bullet Train”? Because on top of starring Brad Pitt and a slew of interesting, top-shelf actors, the action thriller just added Sandra Bullock to the cast. The movie—which centers on five assassins who find themselves on a Japanese bullet train, realizing that their individual assignments are not unrelated to the others—also stars Joey King, Andrew Koji, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Masi Oka, Michael Shannon, Lady Gaga, Logan Lerman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Karen Fukuhara, and rapper Bad Bunny.

Continue reading Sandra Bullock Joins Brad Pitt In The Stacked Cast Of David Leitch’s ‘Bullet Train’ at The Playlist.

Even if you’ve never seen the ‘90s “Mortal Kombat” film, based on the hugely popular video game franchise of the same name, you’re likely familiar with techno theme song that became a huge hit. “Mooooortalllll Koooombaaattttttt!” came rushing out of your speakers followed by enough oomphs and umphs and tsssss to get that fist pumping in the air, as your 10-year-old self attempts to do a spinning roundhouse kick to a tree in your backyard.

Continue reading ‘Mortal Kombat’ First Look Images: WB’s Reboot Is A “Family Drama With Excitingly Brutal Fighting” at The Playlist.

Keanu's Samurai Training Regime, How To Shoot 3D, Committing Seppuku & More Learned On The Set Of '47 Ronin'

Continue reading Keanu’s Samurai Training Regime, How To Shoot 3D, Committing Seppuku & More Learned On The Set Of ’47 Ronin’ at The Playlist.

On Set: Carl Rinsch's Ambitious Blockbuster '47 Ronin' Starring Keanu Reeves

Continue reading On Set: Carl Rinsch’s Ambitious Blockbuster ’47 Ronin’ Starring Keanu Reeves at The Playlist.

Stellan Skarsgård & Hiroyuki Sanada Round Out Cast For 'The Railway Man' Starring Colin Firth & Nicole Kidman

Continue reading Stellan Skarsgård & Hiroyuki Sanada Round Out Cast For ‘The Railway Man’ Starring Colin Firth & Nicole Kidman at The Playlist.